Taunya Fagan Real Estate Glossary and Dictionary of Real Estate Terms Beginning With "D" - Mortgage Glossary and Real Estate Terminology - Building and Construction Terms

Terms You May Need to Know When Preparing Your Bozeman Real Estate Transaction

Days on Market:  
The period of time a property is listed for sale until it is sold or taken off the market.

Debt:
An amount owed to another.

Deed:
A written document that is properly signed and delivered as an instrument of bond, contract or conveyance, especially relating to property. This document transfers property ownership from the seller to the buyer. The seller signs the deed at closing and the buyer receives a copy. The closing sales professional records the deed with the buyer listed as the new property owner. The buyer's name appears on the deed and it is sent to the buyer after it is recorded.

Deed-in-lieu:
Short for "deed in lieu of foreclosure," this conveys title to the lender when the borrower is in default and wants to avoid foreclosure. The lender may or may not cease foreclosure activities if a borrower asks to provide a deed-in-lieu. Regardless of whether the lender accepts the deed-in-lieu, the avoidance and non-repayment of debt will most likely show on a credit history. What a deed-in-lieu may prevent is having the documents preparatory to a foreclosure being recorded and become a matter of public record.

Deed of Trust:
A document used in some states instead of a mortgage. When borrowers sign this document, they receive title to the property but convey title to a neutral third party, called a trustee, until the loan is repaid.

Default:
Failure to make the mortgage payment within a specified period of time. For first mortgages or first trust deeds, if a payment has still not been made within 30 days of the due date, the loan is considered to be in default.

Deferred Maintenance:  
Any repair or maintenance of a piece of property that has been postponed, resulting in a decline in property value.

Delinquency:
Failure to make mortgage payments when mortgage payments are due. For most mortgages, payments are due on the first day of the month. Even though they may not charge a "late fee" for a number of days, the payment is still considered to be late and the loan delinquent. When a loan payment is more than 30 days late, most lenders report the late payment to one or more credit bureaus.

Demographic Data:
Information pertaining to characteristics of human populations and population segments, including population growth and density.

Depreciation:
A decline in the value of property; the opposite of appreciation. Depreciation is also an accounting term which shows the declining monetary value of an asset and is used as an expense to reduce taxable income. Since this is not a true expense where money is actually paid, lenders will add back depreciation expense for self-employed borrowers and count it as income.

Designated Dual Agent:
Real estate sales professionals who work for the same company where one is assigned to work with the buyer and the other is assigned to work with the seller in the same transaction. In such a transaction, there are two designated sales professionals in the same firm: one for the buyer and one for the seller. In Maryland, this is called an intra-company agent.

Disability Insurance:  
An insurance policy which covers an individual's ability to produce income.

Disclosed Dual Agent:
In Virginia and Washington D.C., the real estate sales professional who works with the buyer and seller in the same transaction.

Disclosure:
A document, text or form that reveals or uncovers information about real estate. For example, see Seller's Disclosure.

Discount Point:
Percentage of the buyer's loan usually paid by the seller to the lender in cash at closing. Each point equals 1% on the loan balance. Discount points account for the difference between the market interest rate and the loan rate.

Distressed Property:  
Property that is in poor physical or financial condition.

Documentary Stamps:
A state tax, in the forms of stamps, required on deeds and mortgages when real estate title passes from one owner to another. The amount of stamps required varies with each state.

Dormer:  
A window set upright in a sloping roof. 

Down payment:
The part of the purchase price of a property that the buyer pays in cash and does not finance with a mortgage.

Downspout (Also "Leader"):
A pipe for draining water from roof gutters.

Drip Edge:
A non-corrosive, non-staining material used along the eaves and rakes to allow water run-off to drip clear of underlying construction.

Drywall:  
A construction material composed of gypsum or plaster wrapped in paper. It is manufactored in large sheets that can be nailed or screwed to wall studs.

Drywall/Sheetrock Stage:
Building stage characterized by the addition of sheetrock walls.

Dual Agent:
The real estate sales professional who has signed agreements with the buyer and the seller in the same transaction.

Duct:   
A pipe or channel carrying water, conditioned air, or electrical wiring through a structure.

Due-on-sale provision:
A provision in a mortgage that allows the lender to demand repayment in full if the borrower sells the property that serves as security for the mortgage.

Duplex:  
A structure consisting of two separate family units.

Dutch Colonial Style:  
Design featuring a barn-like gambrel roof, a ground-level front porch, and dormers.

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